A Teigu Unbound
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: I really hate science. Seriously, what possessed humanity to think they could play god? Creating weapons of mass destruction is one thing, but using the souls and ashes of the dead to do it? That's worse than Edo Tensei! Don't they get it? I want to die. I want to stay DEAD. So why do they keep bringing me back to fight! Narutxharem? Pairing undecided. Tons of humor.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: LONG LIVE THE REQUEST YEARS! Someone asked me to do this, so here I am! Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but here we are. Be sure to vote for what will happen! THERE IS a poll on my profile! Vote to decide which faction Naruto joins! Also, remember, if you haven't read/seen Akame ga Kill, you're going to be mighty confused. I recommend the wikipidea if you're lost. Now then, as per the anonymous request, I am once more obligated to say that I own none of the material within, merely the idea for this story.**

 **Now...**

 **...off we go!**

 **And remember!**

 **I!**

 **Own!**

 **NOTHING!**

 **LET US BEGIN~!**

 **BLOOD AND VIOLENCE AHOY!**

 _"...the hell's a teigu?"_

 _~?_

 **Murphy's Law**

 _I really hate science._

 _Seriously, what possessed humanity to think they could play god?_

 _Whoever got the idea for that, the notion for making these biologial "Teigu" deserves a rod up their ass._

 _Creating weapons of mass destruction is one thing, but using the bones and ashes of the dead to do it? That's worse than Edo Tensei!_

 _I originally died a loooooong time ago, in case you haven't guessed that by now. Centuries, by my the last count. And you know what? I am happy with that. Content, even. I lived a long and prosperous life, kicked ass and took names. The bad guys lost, and we won. I even settled down and raised myself a family. Watched my boy grow up and become Hokage after me. Then I got to sit on my ass and enjoy old age. After all I'd said and done, I think I earned, it right? I'd done all I set out to do; and when I finally kicked the bucket it was in bed surrounding by my children, grandchildren, and great-grand-children._

 _It was a good death, all things considered._

 _There's just one tiiiiiny problem._

 _I didn't stay dead._

 _Life gets kinda blurry after my first "death" as it were._

 _By the time I realized someone had dragged my soul back from the dead and stuffed me inside this...facsimile, I wasn't happy. Being bound to a body with instant regeneration should be a plus, but for me to dragged to the physical world again? To be forced to serve others? Hell no! I'm trapped from the moment of the imprint, forced to obey no matter how much I might despise it._

 _I want to die._

 _I want to stay DEAD._

 _So why the HELL do they keep bringing me back?!_

* * *

(...)

* * *

Seryu Ubiquitous felt like _dancing._

Because she was finally going to get her very own Teigu!

It took all she had just to sit still and not bounce on the balls of her feet as she sat in her chair, watching Doctor Stylish fuss over her. Endless tests, procedures and statistics had all led up to this moment. At first, she thought she was going to receive the canine-like _Hekatonkheires_ as a partner but instead of the adorable little dog, the enigmatic doctor directed her to a strange tube containing a different subject. He didn't look at all like a dog which was really too bad; because she liked doggies, but she was still more than willing to press her hand against the glass and see what happened.

Incredibly, he'd twitched!

Reacted!

To her!

Doctor Stylish had run a slew of tests since, adamant that she not provoke him, but she didn't see why she would.

Not when he looked like he could rip a danger beast in half with his bare hands.

Quietly basking in her pride, she risked a glance at him once more.

Tall, with blond hair and whiskered cheeks, he looked almost human.

Like a young man, really.

Honestly, she found it hard to believe he was a teigu at all, even a biological one. Were there other human teigu like that elsewhere in the world? Seryu didn't know, nor for that matter did she see a weapon anywhere on him. That only made her all the more curious about him. Stylish insisted she mustn't take him lightly, that he was capable of incredible destruction. That only made her all the more curious. What could he do? What was he like? Could he speak? Was he sentient? So many questions, not enough answers! She couldn't wait to get to know him! Together they would dispense absolute Justice on the wicked! Just the thought of it made her giddy with glee!

"And, we're all set, Seryu-chan~!

Released from the strange cylinder, the blond flopped forward, gasping for breath.

Blue eyes fluttered open.

...where am I?"

"Home."

A strange aura of menace emanated from the blond as he stood, woodenly and without care. Uncaring for his nakedness, he turned a cutting glare on the deranged scientist. Seryu colored and clamped both hands over her face as _that_ swung in her direction, flushing to the roots of her hair. She wasn't looking! Nope! Not at all! Not even a little...

"Doctor." those bright orbs fixed on Stylish, narrow and angry. "What is it this time?"

"Now, now, Naruto-kun!" the surgeon cried! "There's no need to be cross with me!"

"I have every reason to be cross with you." the blond replied blackly as Stylish tossed him a dark pair of slacks. "You woke me up." he growled, slipping into the rough-hewn pants. "Again. You promised to destroy my body after last time."

 _"I lied."_

"Bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Ah, but you can't, remember?"

Uncertain where all this was going, Ubiquitous dared to interject.

"Um, hi there! I'm your _new_ master." She beamed, eagerly extending her hand. "Pleased to work with you!"

"Naruto" stared at the offered hand for a long moment, his expression decidedly blank.

Abruptly, he slapped it away.

"I refuse."

Seryu recoiled, stung, clutching her palm to her chest.

"No?"

"No." he deadpanned flatly. "Are you deaf?"

"What do you mean, no?!"

"As in negative. Nai. Nyet. Nunca. Find someone else." The "teigu" replied blandly. "I don't want anything to do with you. I thought you were like _her_ but...you're not. You're...dark. Twisted." he made a face, as though he'd just bitten into a particularly sour lemon. "Leave me alone or-?!" Something dawned in his eyes then, something Seryu wasn't entirely sure she liked. "It was a lie," Naruto murmured to himself, eyes widening ever so slowly, _"You_ are a lie. A walking hypocrisy. I don't have to listen to you. Which means...

"Wait, what?"

By way of answer, Naruto turned his gaze on Doctor Stylish.

"Doctor," he began pleasantly," You done goofed."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then Naruto smiled.

 _"Rasengan."_

Stylish swore.

"Oh, dear. Can we, ah, talk about this?"

Blue eyes burned red.

 _ **"NO."**_

That was all Seryu heard before NAruto rammed a handful of chakra into the doctor's face.

With that lone word Doctor Stylish simply ceased to be; he stood there one moment, jaw agape unable to comprehend what'd just occurred. Then the spiraling sphere ground his face to a paste and he was gone in the next instant; his brains little more then a grey stain on the wall. Naruto didn't stop there. Before the decapitated corpse could so much as twitch he drove a foot into it and with a roar of "KATSU!" Obliterated it utterly. Great gouts of fiery blood and gore shot outwards in every direction, spattering the walls, ceiling, even Seryu herself as she stood there, aghast.

"Well." Naruto mused, observing his handiwork. "I suppose I should thank you, Seryu-san. I didn't know that loophole existed. Now I'm free to do as I please."

With that, the poor girl's mind finally restarted.

"Stop!" she shouted as he walked past! "I order you to stop!"

The blond paused, his back to her.

"Give me another order and I will kill you."

Enraged, she thrust a finger at the towering titan looming over her.

"Enough!" she snapped! "You're a Teigu! You responded to me! You have to do what I say and I say I WILL NOT be bulled by the likes of-

"You have an attitude problem. Allow me to fix it."

"What? No! Stop! What're you-EEK!"

 _Ground._

Seryu's words trailed off into a shrill, startled squeal as the blond effortlessly proceeded to reach down, grabbed her by the arm and made her face intimate with the floor in a way that no proper lady could ever desire. Once. Twice. Thrice. The mighty man swung her back and forth like a ragdoll, her lanky body crashing into the floor with a resounding thud. At last, tired with his toy, the teigu flung her away into, then through a wall. Mortar and stone cascaded across her body as she tumbled out into the street, sprawling helplessly head over heels. She had to do something, had to get up had to fight...

When she finally ground to a halt, her armor in tatters, it was already too late.

The ruins of Doctor Stylish's savaged lab stared back at her, a column of smoke and fire rising into the night. She thought she saw something stir in the ruined building. A dark specter moving in the shadow and flame, a grinning phantom who leered at her even as the fires licked at his flesh.

Then he was upon her.

 _"Aaargh!"_

Seryu cried out, feeling something give way in her back as the blond stomped down, obliterating her spine as though it were no more than a twig.

Naruto growled, a deep snarl issuing forth from his throat as he stared down at the prone girl beneath his foot. A hand reached for her head and...

...patted it?

"I won't kill you." his voice was a raw hiss in her ear. "That'd bee too easy. There's also a chance I might actually go back to sleep if I did kill ya." a hand tucked itself beneath her chin, forcing her to stare back at those merciless, angry orbs, cold and bereft of any emotion. Nothing. She saw nothing in those cross-shaped pupils as he stared down at her. She was an insect to him-no, less than insect. "And then where would I be? No, I think I'll leave you like this, _paralyzed_ for now. Do have fun while you can, Seryu-san. Oh, and before I forget-

He leaned closer, lips brushing the outer lobe of her ear. Seryu hated herself for shuddering in spite of it.

 _"Puny...Girl."_

With a jovial whistle Naruto left her behind and set out into the night.

"I wonder if this place has any ramen...?"

 ** **A/N: VOTE FOR WHICH FACTION YOU WANT NARUTO TO SUPPORT! The Empire? Or Night Raid? Hell, I even have a poll for it up on my profile! Pairings remain up in the air!****

 ** **What kind of powers does Naruto have in this? Many. You'll see them soon! _Aaand_ there you have it! OUR FIRST DEATH RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE! I got the idea of having Naruto as a Teigu from Susanoo in the manga, because it was simply too good to pass up. Or is he a true teigu, hmm? One can only wonder since he basically told Seryu to fuck off. That was...enjoyable. At first, I honestly considered sticking him with miss crazy-pants to try and change her over time, but then I realized something. Why am I confining myself to canon? ****

****Screw that!****

 ** **Yes, Seryu is cute, and YES she is slightly misunderstood, but she can also be a hypocrite and overall a very nasty, vicious person.****

 ** **She kills civilians for crying out loud!****

 ** **And she killed Sheele.****

 ** **Made fun of Chelsea.****

 ** **In short, a bitch.****

 ** **So I beat her within an inch of her life. Why didn't I kill her like Stylish? Too easy. If she recovers and encounters Naruto again, death is the only answer.****

 **And with that, its back to bed for me and more painkillers to recover.**

 **Yay.**

 **Hope ya'll enjoyed the update! I sincerely look forward to your reviews on this chapter when I wake up!**

 **So in the immortal words of Atlas...**

 **...review, would you kindly? (And of course, enjoy the preview! Hope it makes ya grin!)**

 _ **(Preview)**_

 _Akame blinked._

 _"You...you're actually pretty nice."_

 _Naruto colored to the roots of his hair._

 _"Praising me doesn't make me happy, ya know!"_

 ** _R &R~!_**


	2. Kill the Loneliness

**A/N: LONG LIVE THE REQUEST YEARS! Someone asked me to do this, so here I am! Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but here we are. Be sure to vote for what will happen! THERE IS a poll on my profile! Vote to decide which faction Naruto joins! Also, remember, if you haven't read/seen Akame ga Kill, you're going to be mighty confused. I recommend the wikipidea if you're lost. Now then, as per the anonymous request, I am once more obligated to say that I own none of the material within, merely the idea for this story.**

 **Now...**

 **...off we go!**

 **And remember!**

 **I!**

 **Own!**

 **NOTHING!**

 **LET US BEGIN~!**

 **BLOOD AND VIOLENCE AHOY!**

 **Remember, Naruto WANTS to die.**

 **He hasn't exactly found a reason to live.**

 _"...the name Naruto does not know defeat."_

 _"Are we quoting Overlord, now?"_

 _"SHAMELESSLY."_

 _~?_

 **Kill the Loneliness**

 _I AM DISPLEASED._

 _Not only does this world NOT have any ramen, but apparently, I can't kill myself._

 _Believe me, I tried!_

 _But for some damn reason my body refuses to obey. It does everything I want, but whenever I deliberately try to harm myself, I freeze up! I know where my damn core is, so it should be simple, but no~! I can still do all sorts of stuff; rip an enemy squad to pieces, obliterate a mountain and burn forest to the ground, but apparently suicide isn't one of them! I can't throw myself at weaklings either, because they always end up dying before they can hurt me. And on the off chance they do, I always heal. Damn, if I could just tell them where my core was this would be easy, but NOPE! Can't do that, either. Can't get the voices out of my head._

 _Damn you, Stylish!_

 _Now that's he's dead, I have no idea how to undo these blocks._

 _Ergo, I should find someone actually CAPABLE of killing me._

 _Someone equal to my level or higher._

 _Someone insanely strong._

 _Strong enough to kill._

 _That should work._

 _Right?_

 ** _RIGHT?!_**

* * *

 _(...Somewhere Outside the Capital...)_

* * *

Snapping his recently acquired journal shut, Naruto turned to the roaring bonfire behind him.

Blue eyes caught the light of the fire, flashing red for a fleeting moment. In their flickering depths he heard them again; the voices of those long dead. Scenes from his past flitted before him like spotty footage from an old camera, grainy images of good times, _happy_ times, an era where justice triumphed and evil perished. Before he'd died of old age. Before someone figured out how to tear him out of the afterlife and bind him to this false body. Before he'd been locked in an endless cycle of bloodshed and servitude. Before he'd been forced to kill against his will.

Before...this.

Yet now he was free and-unless one counted the restrictions on killing himself-he could do as he pleased. But with freedom came questions, questions he didn't yet have answers to. Having wandered aimlessly for quite some time, leaving the capital to burn behind him, he wasn't sure what he wanted anymore.

What did he want besides death?

What did he seek?

What did he require?

What did he actually _desire?_

The answers eluded him completely.

"Now what am I going to do, oi?" he muttered. "Fuck's sake...

The gutted carcass had no answers for him.

"Bah, why am I asking you, anyway?" grumbling, he tore off a meaty haunch by the bone and sank his teeth into it. "Not like you can help any-wait, I lie. You're doing a damn good job of feeding me." Laughing bitterly at his macabre sense of humor the blond ripped off another hunk of meat, chewed, and swallowed. The fullness of its succulent flavor flooded his mouth and he felt stronger for it. Another modification of Stylish's? Was his strength proportionate to the amount of beasts he consumed? Or did he simply add to his already present strength?

More questions.

Still, apparently this body required sustenance to survive. Food. Water. Sleep. Basic sfuff. The danger beast he'd happened upon served nicely, and its hide would make a fine coat as well as bedding for the night. Who knew boars got this large in the forest? It wouldn't last him more than a day, but at least he had something.

Something was always better than nothing, wasn't it?

Grimacing, the Unbound Teigu returned to his feast.

All the while as he devoured the boar, he kept himself attuned to his surroundings. It wouldn't do to be caught and dragged back to the empire now, would it? Because there was someone strong, there. Someone on his level or so near it as to make him flee without thought. A flicker of killer intent had been his only warning.

He hadn't waited to find out who or what it was.

So it didn't exactly come a surprise when he realized he was being watched a few minutes into his well-deserved dinner. Observed, actually. His senses hadn't dulled over the years in the least; on the contrary, this new, indestructible body only served to magnify them, enhance what had always been present. As such he was quite aware of the "strings" in the area long before someone made an appearance. Oddly enough he couldn't sense any killing intent from his observers, either. Only...curiosity?

Strange.

They were probably wondering who was stupid enough to actually light a _great roaring bonfire in the middle of the forest_ and roast a pig over it. That was all part of the plan of course; he'd already butchered the beasts that had come to investigate, and if needs must, he'd do the same to them. A heightened sense told him that someone was in fact, watching him. A female someone. This could either end very badly, or it could prove to be a smashing success. One way to find out.

"You can come out, now." he called into the darkness of the forest. "I'm not going to bite."

Reluctance stayed his hand regardless.

In the end, he found himself confronted by a young girl with striking red eyes and long black hair, a dark ebony curtain reaches down to her knees. Hmm. She wore a strange, dark sleeveless mini-dress with a white collar and a red tie; complete with an odd red belt, gauntlets, and side skirt cover. A pair of long black socks and black shoes completed the ensemble. And there, at her side, gripped by a black gloved hand, a sword. Odd, it almost seemed familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before, but it couldn't possibly be a Teigu, could it?

It _was_ a Teigu, his mind vomited the information. Murasame.

The blade that could kill with a single cut.

A slow smile spread across his face.

Well, this was perfect!

And worth a try!

"Hey, little miss." he asked, shifting himself on the log, "Would you mind cutting me with that sword?"

That actually drew a blink from her.

...what?"

Her voice was soft, almost pleasant, really. Like smoke rolling through honey.

It certainly seemed like she knew how to wield that sword of hers, too.

Yes, he decided, maybe having her kill him wouldn't be so bad.

"I'm asking you to cut me." Naruto repeated, fighting to keep the edge of anticipation from his voice. "Shouldn't be too hard, right? Just one little graze with the blade, if you don't mind." What, did he have to spell it out for her? He wanted to die! If his assumptions were correct, all it would take was a single cut. He wasn't willing to attack her to get what he wanted, but maybe-just maybe-he could reason with her? Surely it might seem an odd request for the girl, but he knew she was more than capable of fulfilling his request. He knew those eyes. They were the eyes of a killer, no doubt about it.

Could not she end him, then?

"Do you want to die?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yes."

"Why?"

The question nearly floored Naruto, mentally and physically. Why, she asked? Wasn't that obvious? Because he'd had enough. Grown weary of being dragged back onto the battlefield again and again without end, used for other's gain. Paraded through the streets like some silent doll, then sicked on whomever invoked this displeasure of his owner at the time. Of being powerless, forced to obey, unable to be his own man. And yet now that he'd been asked, the inquiry made him balk. On some instinctive level his body wanted to live. His mind may have given up, but it had not. Like all things living, it wanted to continue on.

But Naruto didn't.

He had no reason to.

It simply hurt too much.

He couldn't live without purpose.

"I've lived too long." he sighed, shoulders drooping. "Seen too much. I keep coming back when I only want to sleep. It never ends. You don't know me, and I don't expect you to, but please...

Blue eyes rose, finding red.

...make it stop."

His statement seemed to shake her somehow; because she immediately sheathed the blade and slammed it back into her belt. Naruto stared at her in stupefaction, anger rising in him like a red tide. No, no, no! NO! He wanted release! He needed it! And she was just going to deny him?! Just like that?! His fingers bit down into the log with incredible force, drawing bloody red gouges into the wood, and it took all he had not to fly at her and _make_ her cut him, make her attack and give him an end. A lone word snaked between clenched teeth.

 _"Why?"_

"You are not a target." the girl replied blandly. "Therefore, I will not kill you."

"Even if I asked nicely?" Naruto growled.

"No."

"Even if I _attacked_ you?"

Her eyes narrowed.

 _"No."_

"I could take it from you, ya know."

The raven-haired girl shifted into a predatory crouch.

"Try." was all she said.

Despite his disappointment, the blond sighed.

"Fine. I can see there's no swaying you. Want some?" He asked, waving a haunch of meat. "Don't worry, its not poisoned or anything and I could use the company." Not a lie. He didn't want to be alone right now, not when his emotions were rioting like this. Better the company of a stranger than no one at all. So caught up was he in his thoughts that he almost missed the newcomer's reaction. Almost. In her peripherals she stood ramrod straight

"Umm...you alright, there, missy?"

Scarlet eyes widened slightly.

 _And there was a breeze._

Naruto blinked and found that the beautiful blackette had flowed past and around him at near lightspeed. That, and the cooked boar was now missing a very large chunk of meat. Said meat had been ripped right off the freshly-skinned beast's hide and was presently being devoured at a feverish pace by his new guest. Hehe. Unbidden, a small smile sprang to his face as he watched her tear into what remained of the danger beast. Her appetite almost reminded him of Chouji, except she ate like someone who hadn't had a decent meal in days.

"Easy, there!" he soothed, extending a hand. "Slow down! Take as much as you like. I'm not hungry. You got a name?"

Red eyes flicked to him, suddenly wary.

Down to the mean in her hands.

Back to him again.

"Akame." she relented.

"Nice ta meetcha, Akame-chan. I'm Naruto."

A blink.

"Naruto?"

"If you call me a fischake so help me-

"No!" the blackette exclaimed, a rare burst of emotion causing him to start. "No," she repeated softly this time, "It's not that. I wasn't going to tease you. Your name is familiar." At his long-suffering silence she gave his face a long, scrutinizing look. Her rich, red eyes narrowing to intent ruby slits. Something in him withered beneath that scrutiny, screaming at him to bolt, but he couldn't. Akame's gaze pinned him, rooted him where he sat, and for the first time since his freedom, he found himself unable to move.

Then those very same orbs widened.

"You're the Berserk...!"

 _'Damnit. Found out.'_

Naruto's hand shot out seemingly of its own accord, clamping over her mouth and slamming the Teigu-Wielder into the ground with a harsh "crack" before she could finish. The ground burst before her back and Akame went rigid, feeling the soil physically crack and crater as she went rigid beneath him. Her eyes went wider still as she struggled against the iron vice affixing itself to her face, and found it wouldn't budge. She struggled mightily to no avail, the palm just forced her deeper into the ground.

All the while, Naruto glowered down at her.

 _"Mmmph!"_

"DON'T SAY IT!" the blond roared, and immediately blanched, realizing he'd grabbed her just now. "Please...don't say it." He whispered. He didn't like that name. Hated it. Loathed it. Abhorred it. It was cruel. Vicious. Ugly. Stylish had branded him with it long ago and every time someone uttered that infernal title he was reminded of his captivity. A captivity he'd recently shaken and had no desire to go back to. Merely the mention of it was enough to evoke painful memories, images of a time best left forgotten.

"I'm going to let go of your mouth now," Naruto warned, his eyes blazing. "And you, you're not going to speak that name ever again. Understand?"

She nodded and reluctantly, the blond released her.

"That'd be me, aye." he sighed, shoulders slumping with depression. "Secret weapon. A Teigu Unbound. Biological. Currently on the run from the Empire and all that."

Rubbing her neck, the swordswoman shot him a dark glower.

"Biological Teigu can't move without a master."

"There's always an exception to the rule." Naruto replied. "And I'm sorry for attacking you just now. It was...rude of me, ya know. Here." he handed her the still-warm leg he'd been tearing into. "You can have mine, since yours kinda went...flying."

Akame blinked, accepting the haunch of meat.

"You...you're actually pretty nice."

Naruto colored to the roots of his hair.

"Praising me doesn't make me happy, ya know!"

Abruptly, Akame stood.

"You said you're on the run from the Empire?"

"Yeah, might've let that slip." Naruto replied, biting back a sigh. "Look," he began, "Whoever you're working for, can you tell your boss I'm not an enemy? I'm not a friend of the Empire. In fact, I HATE the Empire. They made me kill for them like some kind of dog and I just got away from 'em. So, if that's all the same to you let's just let bygones be bygones and forget I said anything, neh?"

Akame's heart skipped a beat.

Now, Naruto Uzumai had no possible way of knowing-or even understanding-the chain of events he'd just set into motion. No way of realizing he'd just struck a pivotal chord in the assassin's heart. And how could he? Akame was a perfect stranger to him, an amusing acquaintance at the most. As such he failed to recognize the sudden gleam in those red eyes, the slight clenching of her jaw, or the way her fingers dug into the bone she was squeezing, clenching it until it finally fractured beneath her grip.

"In that case...!"

 _"Oi?!"_

He wasn't prepared when a hand locked around his wrist. A tug and Akame jerked him upright, physically hauling him off the log and onto his feet. Naruto bristled immediately, expecting an attack of some sort, but no, the ebon-haired lass simply stared up at him intently. Inexplicably, she nodded to herself, mumbling some nonsense or some-such. Whatever it was proved too soft for even his finely tuned senses to detect and, before he could attempt to react, she began dragging him deeper into the forest at a rapid pace.

"You're coming with me." she declared.

"Huh? Eh? Where?!"

"You'll see."

 _"Hey!"_

Her only response was a small smile.

 ** **A/N: VOTE FOR WHICH FACTION YOU WANT NARUTO TO SUPPORT IN THIS STORY! The Empire? Or Night Raid? Hell, I even have a poll for it up on my profile! Pairings remain up in the air! I think Akame is absolutely adorable in this chapter, for one. But hey, who knows what could possibly happen...?****

 ** **So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...****

 ** **...Review, Would You Kindly?****

 ** **And enjoy the previews!****

 _ **(Preview)**_

 _"Welcome to Night Raid."_

 _"Ha?!"_

 _Lubbock balked, baffled by Akame's behavior. "You can't just bring a random guy in here, Akame! What where you thinking?! He could be a spy for all we-_

 _"Of for the love of-_

 _Naruto twitched and the wire-wielder slammed into the ceiling._

 _Leone whistled._

 _"Nice!"_

* * *

 _His first realization that he was being followed came when the temperature inexplicably plummeted._ _Then she was upon him._ _And he moved._

 _"My body is made of swords and fire!" he barked out the incantation, growling. "Never to have! Never to hold!"_

 _Esdeath blinked, her rapier coming up short against an open palm. And her world ignited._

 _A great swathe of destruction stretched as far as the eye could see, flames still smoldering across the valley, turning stone to glass. As she looked on those flames condensed around the frozen tundra created by her strike, forming a burning aura around the blond. Golden fire split and fell apart, warping into the palm of his hand. That said hand had just stopped a full-powered slash. Interesting. Just what manner of teigu was he?_

 _"You're stronger than I thought." Esdeath grinned._

 _Another exchange met the same fate, her strike coming up short against a golden blade of flame. That settled it in her mind. Such strength!_

 _"Would you like to be my lover?"_

 _"Sorry, but I'm a very selfish person." Naruto apologized, concealing his confusion behind a grin. "As tempting as your offer is, I not the submissive type and you're clearly a dominant."_ _He wasn't prepared for the laughter that followed. Dark and exultant, filled with lust and glee._

 _"Oh, this is too much!"_

 _Then she flew at him._

 _"I WANT YOU!"_

 ** _R &R~!_**


	3. Kill the Darkness

**A/N: BACK AGAIN!** **LONG LIVE THE REQUEST YEARS! Someone asked me to do this, so here I am! Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but here we are. Be sure to vote for what will happen! THERE IS a poll on my profile! Vote to decide which faction Naruto joins! Also, remember, if you haven't read/seen Akame ga Kill, you're going to be mighty confused. I recommend the wikipidea if you're lost. Now then, as per the anonymous request, I am once more obligated to say that I own none of the material within, merely the idea for this story.**

 **Now...**

 **...off we go!**

 **And remember!**

 **I!**

 **Own!**

 **NOTHING!**

 **LET US BEGIN~!**

 **BLOOD AND VIOLENCE AHOY!**

 **Remember, Naruto WANTS to die.**

 **He hasn't exactly found a reason to live.**

 **No journal entry this time!**

 **I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER.**

 **And a disclaimer, I do not own ANY quotes or lines you may or may not recognize from TFS, other movies or shows. I receive no monetary value from using them. They are for sheer entertainment purposes only, so I hope you enjoy 'em!**

 _"This world is corrupt and full of hate!"_

 _"I reject everything about it!"_

 _"I reject that darkness!"_

 _"I reject you!"_

 _"REJECT!"_

 _~?_

 **Kill the Darkness**

Esdeath tilted her head.

The gesture went entirely unnoticed as her host dug into his meal, devouring it with all the glee of a glutton. Now, Esdeath prided herself on being able to control herself. Alright, maybe not so much control as _direct_ her urges on productive means. But even directing her anger into her slowly tapping foot did little more than exacerbate her impatience. With each passing moment that she was ignored so too did that foot continued to tap at the ground, her anger rising, until finally all she could hear was the steady tap-tap-tap of her rapidly rising and falling boot.

Eventually, even that grew tiresome.

 _'Alright.'_

"Let me get this straight," she began slowly, enunciating each word so that she might properly convey the sheer disdain she felt for the task before her. "You want me, a _General_ , to hunt down a _teigu."_ Her words belied her disbelief; a cold disgust she reserved for only the most menial of task. There was no joy to be had in a chase such as this! A mere _object_ could not give her a challenge! She'd much rather be out destroying rebels or putting down riots then this paltry fare! She certainly hadn't expected her subjugation of the North to be put off for something like this!

Prime Minister Honest looked up from his roast, scarfing half of it down in a single gulp.

"Not just any teigu." he explained. "This one's one of a kind. The Forty-Eighth."

"I take it that's a problem."

"Yes, yes," the portly man grunted, tearing off another haunch of meat with his teeth. "It's _quite_ the problem you see. We can't let a blot on the Empire's integrity go unpunished. Budo is off on a tour of the provinces at the moment, or I'd have given him this task myself. Your target is the Teigu I just told you about. Don't let his appearance fool you, he may be a biological teigu,...but his combat prowess is unmatched. He fights like an army, in the form of one man."

"And...?"

The Minister sighed.

"Do you only care for violence?" grimacing, he swallowed deeply. "One of these days you're going to have to find a better habit than torture."

"If someone stronger kills me, I could ask for nothing more." Esdeath declared wholeheartedly. "Although, I've also been thinking of looking for love lately."

Honest blinked.

"Ah. Well. Good for you."

"You were saying?" the bluenette sighed. "Who is this nobody you wish me to pursue?"

The Prime Minister straightened from his meal, scowl etched in stone.

"This _nobody_ you speak so flippantly of is Uzumaki Naruto." his once brash tone fell soft, almost a murmur by comparison. "He once was an 'associate' of ours, I suppose you could say. A very-much-unwilling one but still, he had his uses and they were many. He is a man of focus. Commitment. Sheer will. Something you know a great deal about." a pudgy finger rose, tapping his skull. "Once he sets his mind to something, nothing can stop him. Nothing can change it. And he has decided that he _despises_ the Empire. Do you understand?"

A blink.

"Oh."

"I once saw him kill ten men with a pencil." Honest elaborated, sneering, "A pencil! Can you believe it? Just...thud! Jammed it right into their skulls! Before he at least had a partner to restrain him, but now, without a leash...

Something stirred in the icy general's heart.

Whatever this Imperial Arms might be, it sounded as though it were capable of great violence and strength. Perhaps this would be a worthy chase, and he would be able to amuse her after all. _He._ Already she found herself beginning to think of this Teigu as a person, a he, rather than an it. Someone capable of killing with the merest of efforts, a being able to regenerate from even the most grievous of wounds. She would wring great enjoyment from someone like that, could try out all manner of techniques...

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Oh so very interesting indeed!

"How could you let such a valuable tool get away from you?" she inquired. "Were it me, I would keep him under lock and key."

"I didn't." here the minister's thin veneer of calm finally evaporated. "It was that fool doctor! Stylish was keeping him drugged and under tight restraint until he could find someone to synchronize with again. He _had_ a control word, but something went wrong during the test and now he's on the loose somewhere outside the Capital." He paused once more, tearing a weeping chunk out of a cake, "Long ago, when the First Emperor found a way to...make use of him, to drag him from whatever plan of existence he'd been in, he swore his undying hatred for us. These days, he possesses a potent hatred for me in particular."

"Then why have you not gone into hiding?" The general scoffed. "Surely that is something you can do."

"Hide? Honest laughed bitterly resigned. "Can one hide from a tornado? Can one outrun a firestorm?" he muttered cryptically. "No, General, I will do nothing, because I can _do_ nothing. Nothing but send you after him and _pray_ that you finish what we started. If you don't, you won't have anymore of those precious fights you crave."

"I see. So I'm cleaning up another one of your messes."

Honest bristled, but let the challenge go.

"Thankfully, the tracker he implanted in his skull is still giving off a strong signal, so I don't think he knows about it. Here." an arm rose, cradling a small circular device. "This should enable you to find him. Bring him back alive if you can. Pieces if you can't."

Her hand shot out, catching the thrown device.

"If that's all, I'll be off, then."

"Oh, and General?"

She paused.

"I wouldn't advise holding back against this one." Honest's eye had taken on an unusually serious gleam. "He's already proved himself capable of great violence and we don't know the entirety of his abilities. Don't toy with him. Do _not_ give him a chance to fight back. It might be the last thing you do. Kill him. Before he kills me."

The bluenette pretended to consider that for a moment.

"Are you telling me not to play with my food?"

"Not at all. Just be thorough."

"Is he strong?" she asked.

"Very."

"Then...I accept."

* * *

 _(...Meanwhile, Outside the Capital...)_

* * *

"You can open your eyes now."

"Look, I can't. Blindfold, rem _-oomph!"_

Naruto grunted in quiet surprise as his whiskered visage rammed face-first into an unseen tree. _Hard._ To Akame's surprise the sturdy oak yielded before the blond like brittle plywood, toppling backward with a dull crash to the ground. Its thick trunk simply uprooted itself. If not for the young man's muffled grunts of pain, she would've thought he hadn't felt a thing. Curious, she turned her gaze back to the tree. Odd. It almost looked as the impact site were _burned_ somehow. As though meeting the blond's skull had both simultaneously cut and scorched. But how-

Forehead throbbing, Naruto turned his head in her direction.

"Okay, this is getting annoying." he groused, rubbing his bloodied nose. "Just what kind of cloth is this? I can't see anything! Take it off!"

"Oh, right."

Delicate hands took hold of the black cloth binding his face and pulled it away, leaving blue eyes to adjust to the waxing light of the rising sun.

The sight there took his breath away.

...well, damn."

Naruto gazed up at the towering expanse before him in quiet awe. It was...impressive, to say the least. Silhouetted against sun, as though someone had taken a series of buildings and shoved them up beneath a massive cliff, so too did the raw structure before him seem just as indomitable. Additionally, he could "feel" the strings in the air, a tight network threatening to swoop down on him at the slightest provocation. He understood it, even if he didn't rightly know where he'd been led to for the last few hours. The twists and turns had been many, no doubt intended to throw off his sense of direction.

So that meant the blindfold must've been there for a reason.

Right?

"Nice place ya got here." he muttered, at a loss for anything else to say.

Akame simply took hold of his wrist and started dragging him forward once again. Strong one, this girl! He could've broken free and rabbited back into the forest of course-but that would've taken a fair bit of strength. Besides, on some level Naruto found himself curious as to what awaited him ahead. She'd said next to nothing about where she was taking him, so he was left to his own devices in that regards. Was this some sort of organization on the outskirts of the Empire? A foreign power? A group of killers? Who knew? Should he stay here, or maybe-

"Yo, Akame!"

An armored man crashed down from on high and shattered those thoughts.

"Who's the new guy?"

"New member." she stated.

"Sounds good!" The man declared, nodding firmly. "The Boss just got back, so we can see her right away!"

Naruto wasn't listening.

The newcomer appeared to have leaped out of one of the larger buildings, having landed directly in from of them, the very earth cratering with the force of his landing. Clad head-to-toe in silver armor with a flowing white cape, the very sight of it caused Naruto to stiffen sharply. _Incursio._ Once more his mind _-curse that damn Stylish for screwing with his head-_ acknowledged and recognized the presence of yet Imperial Arm. But unlike his brief encounter with Akame's still sheathed Murasame something in him immediately stiffened at the sight of it, ranting that the Teigu was more than it seemed. Alive. Living. A threat.

Danger.

 _Danger!_

 **DANGER!**

Naruto jerked backwards with a hiss, ripping his arm free from Akame's grip and falling into a defensive stance. But the armored knight didn't attack. He simply tilted his head in Naruto's direction regarding him as one might an object of curiosity. Object. He stiffened at the thought, yet in the end it was all for naught. Instead of a flat rebuttal he found himself taken aback as the broad-shouldered man offered him his hand, extending an arm in friendship, clasping his limb and shaking fiercely.

"Hey, there!" even behind the helm one could _hear_ the smile in his voice. "Nice to meet you, partner! I hope we can work well together!"

With that the strange sense of dread tormenting the blond inexplicably evaporated.

Baffled, he titled his head, sweatdropping.

...ha?"

 _"Down, Bulat."_

A golden paw descended mercilessly, driving the armored behemoth facefirst into the ground with an audible crack. For the second time that day, Naruto realized someone had slipped past his senses and wrought havoc on his rapidly-fraying nerves.

"Oh for the love of, people all day today!"

Rounding on the sound, he found himself gazing upon a young woman with long, wild blonde hair, two long bangs framing the sides of her head. Slitted golden eyes not unlike those of a cat re regarded him inquisitively, and it was a struggle to meet them, not her...rather revealing choice of attire. For the life of him, he couldn't understand how any woman would be comfortable in a black tube top, let alone wild pants like that. But what baffled him the most where her strange, feline features.

Then his eyes settled on her belt and something clicked.

 _Lionelle._

An Imperial Arm that transformed its user into a beast.

Were all of them Teigu users?

"So you were here too, Leone?"

"I was listening in." the cheeky blonde confessed, beaming. "So? We've got a new member?"

Akame nodded curtly.

"This is Naruto."

"Ooh~! He's not bad looking." The thusly-named-Leone shifted forward, regarding him with a keen eye.

"Great." Restraining a twitching eye, Naruto willed himself to be calm. Yes, he reminded himself, calm. Serenity. He was the rock of the eternal shore. Nothing bothered him. It didn't bother him, it didn't bother him at all, it bothered him, it bothered him a lot and _whatthehellisshedoing?!_

Despite his efforts to remain calm, the blond immediately colored when the beast-wielder pressed up against him. When something warm and soft pressed against his still-bare chest. Yet again he found himself forcibly reminded that Leone was emphatically a woman in every sense of the word. And apparently she took great pleasure in tormenting him! Warm breath tickled his nose as she leaned forward, smirking.

"Heh." she sniffed, nuzzling his cheek. "Nice scent you've go there."

...thanks?"

"By the way, watch out for Bulat," his fellow blond whispered conspiratorially in his ear, an impish grin adorning her face as dismay dawned on his. "He's gay."

"Hey, don't make it sound like that, Leone!"

"HA! Still, this guy _looks_ like he knows his stuff, but...

...but you don't trust me." Naruto finished flatly.

"Bingo!" Leone clapped her clawed hands together, beaming. "You catch on quick! I mean, do you even know how to throw a punch, fischake?"

Naruto twitched.

"Fish...cake?"

"Yeah, its a really funny name! Does it go well with a side of ramen.

 _'You pushed the ramen button. You shouldn'ta did that!'_

 _ **"Hit me and see how funny it is."**_

The sudden change in character elicited a startled blink from the lioness.

"Huh?"

"Oho!" Bulat grinned. "He's got some spirit!"

"I'll say."

"Hey," she frowned, "C'mon now, are you serious?"

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

Leone scoffed.

"Oh, really~

"Now hold, there. You might have misheard me." Sharpened incisors flashed menacingly as the whiskered killer interrupted her. "Not half as hard, not some arbitrary percentage. I want you...to hit me." A hand rose, thumbing his nose. "As. Hard. As. You. Can." Despite his cheery tone, despite his utter lack of threat, Leone felt a small seed of doubt plant itself amidst her resolve with these words. Surely this idiot was bluffing. He didn't really want her to punch him. He was just trying to act tough, play himself up.

"And if I don't play along?"

Naruto met her glare for glare, refusing to flinch as she cocked an arm for emphasis, clawed fingers curling inwards. Outward. Inward again. He wondered if she'd rise to the challenge and slug him right out the gate. You'd have to be absolutely mad to fall for a taunt like that. Still, he was feeling peevish, and dared to push further.

"Then I guess you're just a scared little kitty-

"HIYAH!"

Leone threw the blow with all the might and power her enhanced body possessed; the entirety of her being focused into a single strike. She'd shattered greater men with less. Naruto didn't move. Didn't flinch. Didn't buge an inch. The eternal Teigu simple stood there, as if he were prepared to take it right on the chin. Leone resolved herself to hold back at that last instant, strike _just_ close enough to get a good scare out of him, but nothing was held back from the raw power of the pummeling.

Thud.

Instinct reared its ugly head too late as Naruto's hand snapped up seemingly of its own accord, effortlessly intercepting Leone's wild strike before it could hammer home into his face. Baffled, she strained against him but he remained steadfast. Unmoving, even as the steely-eyes woman struggled against him with all her might. Her grin became quite strained once she realized her fellow blond wasn't willing to let her retreat either; strong, firm fingers dug into the flesh of her knuckles and held her there, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Oi, oi, oi. Careful. You could hurt someone."

Then he levered her into the ground.

Hard.

Soil burst before her back like so much

Wide golden eyes flicked up to meet Naruto's red, lips curling apart to expose pearly white teeth and sharpened canines in a rictus of a confusion. That anxiety only intensified as the blond hauled her flailing form up into his lap and laid her across his knee. In hindsight, his intent should have been obvious from the moment his elbow came down on her back, locking her into place. Gulping, she raised her gaze to meet his, lower lip ever so slightly trembling.

"W-W-Wait a second! What are you going to do?!"

"You've been a bad kitty, Leone. Papa spank!"

His hand descended rhythmically and without mercy.

"Alright, alright, alright!" she whined. "I'm sorry! I won't make fun of your name any more! Now let me go~!"

Naruto offered up a grim smile of his own...

...and released her.

"Satisfied now?"

"Hate you so much." Apparently Leone wasn't, for she shot him a rueful glower. "Still, turnabout is fair play, so...welcome to the team then, whiskers!"

And just like that, his brief bout of calm evaporated.

"OI!" Naruto lowed! "Don't I get a say in this?!"

"Nope." Both girls shook their heads.

"Better if you just roll with it." Bulat sighed. "There's no stopping them when they get like this."

Naruto scowled.

"Is there anyone else I don't know about?" his voice snapped like a whip. "Please, tell me now." He didn't think his heart could take this many attacks!

Leone merely grinned.

"Weeeeell, Lubbock and Boss are here, but Sheele and Mine're still out on recon, so-

"For the love of _-just take me to your leader already!"_

In short order he was marched-dragged, really!-into the hideout. Slightly overwhelmed by all the chaos Naruto allowed it, idly sparing a glance for the twisting corridors. It was only when he found himself escorted into one of the larger rooms that he finally dug his heels in and refused to be budged. He had a feeling this was the destination anyway, and the one sitting behind the desk was in charge of this little band of miscreants. No he told himself, he wasn't getting fond of them already. Wait. Was he? Nope, nope, nope! No attachments here. Not at all! Not even a little...bit...

 _...I'm royally fucked, aren't I?'_

All in all the lounge only held two other occupants beyond themselves; one, a youth with lime-colored hair, his bright eyes flicking up sharply at the sight of them. The silver-haired woman behind the desk proved more temperate in her reaction, standing slowly to greet him. Her metal arm creaked softly as she raised it, idly planting the steel fist against her hip.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head, regarding them. "It seems nearly everyone's here. Akame, who is this? Someone new?"

Akame nodded.

"He wants to join us, Boss."

Najenda blinked.

"Does he now?"

Another nod.

"OI?!"

"Don't be so modest!" Leone gave him a half-hearted shove from behind, sending him stumbling forward. "Go on! Show her what you're made of!"

"Seriously?! I'm not just going to pick a fight for the hell of it! I only came here because I was curious to see what you guys were about!"

"And?" Najenda posited. "What do you think?"

Naruto started, momentarily taken aback. He wasn't used to others asking for his opinion on...well, anything really. It was something of a novelty. No one had asked what he thought of anything in...a very long time. It nearly drew a thin smile from him, one he viciously suppressed. Wouldn't do to get all weepy over a single question now, would it?

"Well, you guys seem alright." he relented at last. "And Akame's told me you hate the Empire just as much as I do. So? Just who the hell are you guys?"

The silence that followed proved deafening.

Until Najenda grinned.

"A fine question."

Naruto blinked.

"What? Really?"

So she told him.

"We are Night Raid."

Long and at length, Najenda explained to them who they were. _Night Raid._ What their purpose was. To root out corruption in the Empire and restore it to its former glory. They weren't heroes. They were assassins. _They_ were thought to be the villains by the world at large, but nothing could be further from the truth. If their was corruption, they would kill it. If an evildoer took delight in causing misfortune to others, they would kill them with extreme prejudice. If the strong took advantage of the weak, then they would slaughter the strong. The ninja listened intently and asked inquiries of his own, and Night Raid's Leader answered them each in turn.

It almost reminded him of home.

And when they had finished, when Najenda had finally quenched his thirst for knowledge, Naruto found himself leaning towards agreement.

A thorn of caution pricked him and held him back.

"I have a condition.

"And that is?"

"If I agree to this, and its a very big IF right now," he warned, holding up a finger, "Then I want Akame to kill me when its over. Let me rest." He was keenly aware that the blackette stiffened behind him, but he willed himself not to pay it any heed, not to notice in the least. He would not be betrayed again. He would take precautions. This would be the first, and last time he did something for himself. And when it was over, he would know oblivion once more.

"Rest?"

"Its a long story," he admitted, "And I'll gladly tell it later. But, please. You have to promise me. Don't keep me around like some giant stick to swing at your enemies afterward. End me."

...I will."

Blue eyes narrowed.

"I want your word. On your solemn honor as a human being."

Najenda stood.

Naruto watched intently as she circled the desk and crossed the room to him once more, stopping a mere hand's throw away. To his disbelief, she crossed one hand over her heart and knelt before him. A chorus of shock rose from Leone and the others.

"I do so solemnly swear." Najenda repeated, heedles of their surprise. "If I break my word, you have leave to kill me."

"It won't come to that."

"See?" Akame argued, her red eyes flicking back to Najenda as their leader rose. "He's not a bad person. I think we should let him in."

"All in agreement?"

Bulat and Leone chorused in favor.

"Aye?"

"Akame?"

Her head bobbed shortly, slowly.

She flashed him a small smile.

 _"Welcome to Night Raid."_

"Ha?!"

Naruto turned his head as the green-haired youth finally made himself, and his displeasure, known. Bolting upright from his lounging position on the nearby couch, Lubbock balked, baffled by Akame's behavior. "You can't just bring a random guy in here! What are you thinking?! He could be a spy for all we know! Whose to say he isn't, oi?!"

With that, the last fraying tether of Naruto's patience finally snapped.

Striding forward, he slapped his hand onto the man's chest.

 _"Reject!"_

One touch.

That was all it took.

One touch and the wire-wielder slammed into the ceiling. Then the floor. Ceiling again. Followed by the floor.

Leone whistled.

"Nice!"

"What was that?" Akame inquired curiously.

"An ability of mine." the blond hummed. "I rejected his presence and took him on a ride."

"Just by touching?"

"Yup."

"Can we keep him?!" Leone cried!

"Keep?!" Lubbock groaned from where he lay on the floor, rubbing his bloodied nose. "He just knocked me into the ceiling!"

"Stop whining," Naruot groused, kneeling beside him. "And hold still."

"Now wait just a sec-

"Reject." he uttered simply.

As the others looked on the whiskered warrior seemed to convulse ever so slightly, his body bathed in emerald relief. Once it had cleared, he was left wiping a bloody nose and nursing a slightly swollen eye. With a mere matter of moments even these injuries were nowhere to be seen and he stood, sniffing. Lubbock's reaction was slightly more...audible. Jumping to his feet, the wire user patted himself down, startled to find that none of his injuries remained. Even the slight trickle of blood against his face was nowhere to be seen!

"What was...?!"

"I rejected your wounds and transferred them to myself." Naruto replied stoically. "Helps when you have an immortal body."

"Okay, you're _staying."_ Leone locked an arm in his.

Najenda regarded him studiously for a long moment.

"Still...you seem familiar. Have we met?"

Naruto sighed, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Can we not go into it, please?"

"No, I'm certain I've seen you somewhere before." the ex-general argued.

"I don't recall-

"Ah!" she snapped her fingers. "You were that statue Stylish kept locked up in his lab. Never liked him. He was crazyyyy _yyyyiiiiiipe!"_

Najenda's statement piqued into a very unladylike squeak as strong arms wrapped around her!

"Finally!" Naruto all but wept with joy! "Someone who understands! I could kiss you!"

"Hey!"

"Careful, don't break her ribs!"

Naruto winced, and withdrew, casually scratching at his arm. Blasted thing. Why did it _itch?_

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...

"Look, if you're that strong, why not throw down with me in the ring?"

"Why are you challenging him to a fight already, oi?!" Lubbock sighed. "Just ignore the meathead. He's always like this."

Bulat blinked.

"Look, its alright. If he doesn't want to spar-

"I wanna."

All eyes snapped to the blond.

"Oh," he chuckled, "But not right now. Maybe later, once I've gotten my bearings."

Even Naruto found himself mildly startled by the laugh; it burst out of him in a soft, throaty chuckle. _Damn_ but he'd almost forgotten just how freeing it felt to act of his own volition. Simple things like agreeing to a spar on something as base as a whim. Choosing which side he intended to face in a conflict. Even something as base as choosing to sit or stand. Now that he'd finally been freed from his leash, he took a certain perverse joy in his newfound freedoms and found himself eager to test his new abilities on his own terms.

It was...cleansing, really.

Pearly white teeth flashed in a roguish grin.

"Fine by me! I need to get used to this body again, anyway!"

Lubbok chose that moment to stiffen.

"Wait, a second. Why is my barrier acting like this?" Frowning, he cast a dark look at his gauntlet, watching the wires within. "Crosstail's saying we've got an intruder, but there's only one. How could one person breach my barrier that easily and get that close? Who's that skilled? Oi, Akame! Did someone follow you?"

"No." Akame shook her head. "I made sure we weren't followed, and Naruto was blindfolded the entire time...

Unbidden, an old memory dredged itself up in the blond's mind.

 _'We always know where you are.'_

Naruto went rigid, suddenly realizing why his arm had been itching for the last few hours.

Tracking device.

Which meant...!

He stiffened.

"I have to leave!"

* * *

 _(...?...)_

* * *

In the end, they let him go.

He hit the ground running, his stride rapidly devouring the distance between him and the forest. Upon reaching it, he flung himself into the trees, leaping up onto a nearby bough. An icy sense of dread enveloped him in an instant and before he knew it, his legs were once more propelling him forward through the undergrowth.

Something was coming.

Someone was coming.

For him.

At his back he became keenly aware of Akame's presence; watching, but from a distance, trying to understand what he knew already and failing utterly. He knew who was coming. He didn't know how, he just knew. Just as he knew he needed to be very far away from Night Raid when he confronted them. Every aspect of his mind, his soul, his _very being_ screamed at him to run, begging him to flee, to hide, to get the _hell_ out of here before it was too late, before,

His first realization that he was being followed came when the temperature inexplicably plummeted.

Frost glimmered upon the trees.

Then she was upon him.

And he moved.

"My body is made of fire and swords!" he barked out the incantation, growling as his power flared. "Never to have! Never to hold!"

A blue white blur lunged out at him from the dark just as he finished the last word.

Esdeath blinked, her rapier coming up short against an open palm.

And her world ignited.

A great swathe of destruction stretched as far as the eye could see, flames still smoldering across the valley, turning stone to glass. As she looked on those flames condensed around the frozen tundra created by her strike, forming a burning aura around the blond. Golden fire split and fell apart, warping into the palm of his hand. Said hand had just stopped a full-powered slash. Interesting. Just what manner of teigu was he? He had just displayed pyrokinetic abilities, yet when she'd struck him it was as if-

"I am the Bone of Sword." a low growl rose from the haze, like twin boulders rolling together. "The edge of my blade is I, and I am it. We are one. We reject this world."

Esdeath bristled.

 _"This world is corrupt and full of hate!"_

Naruto lunged at her out of the smoke and struck, the blazing bar of fire crashed down against her guard with all the force and power of a thousand suns, dragging her sabre aside. To late, she realized his intention. Too late, she felt the white-hot sting of molten heat against her dominant arm. And then there was pain. Pain, pain, pain, PAIN! Esdeath grit her teeth against it, refusing to scream, yet relief came to her all the same as she suddenly realized her right arm wasn't burning anymore. In fact, she wasn't feeling much of anything in that limb.

Because the limb was gone. Obliterated, just below the elbow.

 _"I reject everything about it!"_

And then he came at her again, forcing her back as the blazing blade obliterated her cap.

 _"I reject that darkness!"_

Scowling, she lashed out with a heel and flung a barrage of icicles in his direction, only for them to dissolve into warm vapor as she lunged. _Feint!_ Her mind screamed a warning when the blond discarded his weapon and burst at her, a new one already taking blade in his hand as he snapped forwards, shifting to the side, left, right, left again and oh this was going to _HURT-_

 _"I reject you!"_

Something new appeared in his arm and his hand snapped forward.

 ** _"REJECT!"_**

Something went crunch in her ribs and for the first time in an age, Esdeath coughed blood. But instead of falling as he'd doubtlessly intended her to, she grasped the blade with her hand, holding tight, uncaring as the fire and the flames licked at her flesh.

"You're stronger than I thought." she grinned, releasing him.

Naruto jerked back, and struck at her anew.

Another exchange met the same fate, her strike coming up short against a golden blade of flame. That settled it in her mind. Such strength! That innocent, carefree smile. That raw strength. The ability to wield swords and fire, to reject reality itself...

"Would you like to be my lover?"

"Sorry, but I'm a very selfish person." Naruto apologized, concealing his confusion behind a grin. "As tempting as your offer is, I not the submissive type and you're clearly a dominant." He wasn't prepared for the laughter that followed. Dark and exultant, filled with lust and glee.

"Oh, this is too much!"

Then she flew at him.

"I WANT YOU!"

Naruto yelped! "I need an adult!"

"I AM AN ADULT!"

"Oh, fuck-

 ** **A/N: Next chapter will be all sorts of insanity! Naruto and Esdeath go at it!****

 ** **As for Tatsumi, he WILL be in this story, just not in the role you expect. It ought to surprise ya!****

 ** **VOTE FOR WHICH FACTION YOU WANT NARUTO TO SUPPORT IN THIS STORY! The Empire? Or Night Raid? Hell, I even have a poll for it up on my profile! Pairings remain up in the air! I think Akame is absolutely adorable in this chapter, for one. But hey, who knows what could possibly happen...?****

 ** **So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...****

 ** **...Review, Would You Kindly?****

 ** **And enjoy the previews!****

 _ **(Preview)**_

 _Leone's jaw clicked open._

 _"Did you just..._

 _"You're a hundred years too early to beat me with a punch like that, little miss."_

 _"Little?!"_

 _The blond beamed._

 _"I'm older than I look."_

* * *

 _Naruto clicked his teeth in annoyance._

 _"Do you really want me that badly?"_

 _Her smile conveyed it all._

 _"Then join Night Raid." he offered her a hand. "Help me tear down the empire. If you do that, this body is yours."_

 _"You say that as if its not yours."_

 _"It isn't." he replied readily. "If this were my REAL body I would've ground you to paste by now."_

 _Esdeath froze._

 _"What?"_

 ** _R &R~!_**


	4. Kill the Queen

**A/N: ACTION HEAVY CHAPTER INCOMING! AND SOMEONE TAKES A BEATING~!**

 **WARNING! This chapter gets intense! For those of you who can't handle certain scenes, I advise ye to leave now while ye can! Esdeath is very much herself in this story, so this chapter gets rather...**

 **...ahem...**

 **...you know what I mean.**

 **But if you're still here, welcome!**

 **I AM BACK AGAIN!** **LONG LIVE THE REQUEST YEARS!**

 **Someone asked me to do this, so here I am! Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but here we are. Be sure to vote for what will happen! THERE IS a poll on my profile! Vote to decide which faction Naruto joins! Also, remember, if you haven't read/seen Akame ga Kill, you're going to be mighty confused. I recommend the wikipidea if you're lost. Now then, as per the anonymous request, I am once more obligated to say that I own none of the material within, merely the idea for this story.**

 **Now for your questions!**

 **Q: Does Naruto's Teigu body have some Fate Stay Night abilities?**

 **A: Caught that, did you? Yes, he does. As to the why, this chapter explains it.**

 **Q: Why didn't Naruto take Koro and Perfector before he fled?**

 **A: Well, he didn't KNOW about Koro. And it is implied that he left Perfector behind, in the first chapter alongside Stylish's corpse. Leaving THAT Teigu in the hands of the enemy is a very bad idea and it may well come back to bite him if anyone gets it up and running. Not sure if a Teigu can use a Teigu, though...**

 **Q: Why is Naruto immature at times, i.e. blushing, sputtering and the like? Isn't he, well, ancient?**

 **A: He is indeed very old. But despite all the torment he's been through he's still young at heart. And let's face it, who wouldn't sputter when you've got someone like Leone or Esdeath coming after you! Trust me, we see his serious side in this chapter at times.**

 **Q: I though we had a choice in this fic? Why did he go with Night Raid?**

 **A: Um, did you not see the poll? Night Raid pretty much won the day by now. 416 votes over Chaos which had 388. The Empire came in DEAD LAST with a measly 147. He was NOT shoehorned into going with Night Raid. Technically, he using them as much as they are him. Their interests simply align with his and he's loosely affiliated with them for the time being. He COULD go rogue. He could not.**

 **Q: Esdeath is going to take Naruto, isn't she?**

 **A: Feelings will certainly be proclaimed by the end of this chapter, yes.**

 **Q: So Naruto has a lot of skills as a teigu. Any more that we haven't seen?**

 **A: Remember, THIS Naruto lived a full life before being brought back as a Teigu. That's a lifetime's worth of experience pertaining to jutsu, not to mention his new body and the experiments Stylish conducted on him, In short, he has a LOT of abilities in this fic. Don't worry, he basically explains them himself, so read on to understand.**

 **Now...**

 **...off we go!**

 **And remember!**

 **I!**

 **Own!**

 **NOTHING!**

 **LET US BEGIN~!**

 **BLOOD AND VIOLENCE AHOY!**

 **Once more as a disclaimer, I do not own ANY quotes or lines you may or may not recognize from TFS, other movies or shows. I receive no monetary value from using them. They are for sheer entertainment purposes only, so I hope you enjoy 'em!**

 **And to clarify, Esdeath is NOT able to stop time; as of the beginning of this chapter she has yet to develop that OP skill. And remember, it can only be used ONCE a day.**

 **Makes the fight far more interesting, don'tcha think?**

 _"I've struggled for a long time with survivin'. No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for."_

 _"And what are you fighting for now?"_

 _"I'm fighting for an end."_

 _"What kind of end?"_

 _"My own."_

 _~Naruto._

 **Kill the Queen**

 _"SWEET BABY JESUS, NOT THE FACE!"_

Naruto squawked like a startled parrot and leaped backwards in frantic retreat as the blue, one-armed demoness that was Esdeath pounced upon him. Rape face! That was a rape face if he ever saw one! And she might have caught him too, had he not lapsed into flame just before she could grab him, leaving her fingers to find flame. The explosion hit a moment later-hot and cold air colliding with a deafening explosion of steam. A hiss of pain told him that his gambit had been successful, yet his senses screamed a warning all the same.

A shadow passed over him and he spun, calling another sword to his hand.

"No, you don't!"

Flame met frigid steel and his heel shot out, catapulting

By all rights that should have stopped Esdeath right then and there. Even animals knew not to stick their noses where it hurt more than once. So when she staggered out of the smoke, bearing an ugly wound upon her side and missing most of her skirt she should've been scowling at him. Flinging curses for being wounded twice in a row, losing her arm, no less. But instead of disappointment, the general's visage was an odd study of contrasts; sheer euphoria vying with an all-consuming lust that chilled him to his very bones.

"Come to mama." she purred, stretching her arms out towards him.

Naruto's life flashed before his eyes in an instant.

"Fuck no!"

"I love a good challenge!"

The blond retaliated with a towering line of flame, forcing Esdeath to bound over it lest take damage to her legs. He was there to meet her in midleap, blazing blade crashing down against hers with enough force to drive all sensation from her good arm. Sparks skittered between them, two predators snarling at one another as each struggled to break the deadlock. To his surprise, Esdeath didn't use her teigu to drive another spike of ice into his body, something she could've easily done even with only one of arms.

At length, they disengaged and stood.

"For crying out loud, why are you after me?!"

"You're strong, you have an innocent smile, and you're the only one whose matched me in combat." she declared primly. "I like that. I like you! Don't think you can escape from me! No matter where you go I'll find you. You can run, but I'll just catch you-

"You mean this?" the blond remarked, holding up the tracker chip from his now-bloodied arm. "Dug it out while you were drooling." He crushed it in a fist, grinning. "Now, I could run from you. But I get the feeling you'd just cause trouble. So if its my head you want...

As she looked on, the Unbound Teigu shifted his stance, blade borne like a lance.

...I'm going to make you work for it."

 _"Excellent."_

Grinning toothily, she channeled her power into the air, utilizing one of her favorite attacks.

It seemed strange what desire made foolish people do. She'd a prime opportunity to kill him just now, yet she had discarded it in favor of taking him alive. Never in her wildest dreams had she dreamt she would meet somebody like him. And she _certainly_ never dreamed she be losing to him! She was supposed to be the dominant! Not the submissive!

What a wicked game to play.

" **Grauhorn!"** _(Grey Horn!)_

To Naruto's eyes, a giant horn of ice seemingly arose from the thin air to eviscerate the mist, roaring forward to obliterate him at blistering speeds. At least, that seemed her intention. He didn't move. Scowling, he fanned the flames that were his shroud with his will and the frigid spear froze in its flight, coming up just short of his face. As though gripped by an invisible fist, the icy javelin and the one controlling found it could trespass no further. Though its edge proved close enough to touch, it struggled in vain. A thought rendered it so much useless water, held aloft merely by his will.

As Esdeath looked on in quiet disbelief, that cold liquid reared up, adopting physical shape and form. Gaining scales of hardened water, a maw filled with impossibly sharp teeth. She had a second longer to comprehend her error before the blond snapped his fingers and it surged towards her, fangs bared. It put Liver's capabilities with the Black Marlin to shame.

"Back at you." Naruto growled. **_"Water Dragon!"_**

For the second time since their brawl had begun, Esdeath laughed.

"YES! That's more like it!"

Leaping away from the aqua beast she grinned and sliced out at him with her remaining arm, creating a storm of bloody ice needless at her fingertips. A flick of her wrist flung the icy projectile at the blazing blond. Alas, to her annoyance they simply melted upon reaching him and returned as a thousand watery senbon; the hardened needles forcing the general to shield her face with her arms lest she come to resemble a pincushion. It should've been a small matter to simply freeze them at will and fling them back, but she found that the blond's grip on the water remained even after the attack dissipated. But this didn't upset Esdeath, not at all!

Far from it!

The challenge excited her!

But that excitement soon waned into unexpected confusion when her prey shouted and abruptly slammed a boot into the ground, cratering the soil beneath. Esdeath blinked, hanging from a branch. What kind of attack was that supposed to be? It hadn't done any-

 **"Ground Gladius!"**

The ice-wielder stiffened as the earth shifted once more.

 _Underfoot._

With an unholy roar, the world burst to life beneath Esdeath's precarious perch, rising up into a sharp, gigantic spire with the appearance of a curved blade. Fast! Sharp, too. Viciously so. Sharp enough to break through her defenses, slice apart the azure curtain of her hair, and into her back. Strands of blue hair danced about wildly on the wind the general to hang there in a fit of disbelief, bracing herself against the edge with her arm, hissing softly. Too close. If she hadn't dodged in time she might've lost more than her hair, sustained more than the angry red wound between her shoulders. And yet for some reason...

...she couldn't help but be thrilled by it all.

 _'Earth, too?! Oh, this is too much! I LOVE it! If this continues...'_

"Oiiiiiii," the blond's voice called up at her in a loose drawl, "Are you dead yet? Its kinda annoying when you keep playing possum."

 _...I'll just have to get serious.'_

Emboldened by the brief outburst, she hoisted herself up off the earthen tower and glowered down at the forest below. Standing tall and proud she imperiously raised her remaining arm and thrust a finger at the distant speck of fire in the forest below. Clearing her throat she called out to the Unbound Teigu, her voice pitched to carry:

"Listen well, Teigu!" she declared, tilting her head back! "You are strong! Marvelously so! I respect that! However, you are not stronger than I! One way or another, you will be mine!"

"Then why don't you come down here and get me, ya icy bitch?!" The blond shot back, giving her a one-fingered salute. "Or are _you_ too weak?!"

Blue eyes gleamed.

"Gladly!"

Gathering herself into a crouch, the icy terror channeled most of her strength to her legs. However wounded she might be, those limbs were still in fairly good shape; she had yet to sustain any significant wounds to her lower body, either. Thus, she still deemed herself able to fight, despite being put on the defensive thus far. After all, Esdeath was nothing if not determined. Determined to prove that she was strong. The strongest. That she wasn't weak and faltering like the rest. That she was superior.

Deepening her crouch, she placed her remaining hand against the upturned earth, fingers hooking into the hardened soil like icy claws. Muscles contracted viciously.

Released.

Then she launched herself at him like a grinning rocket.

"NARUTO!"

"Oh crap, she's triggered!"

With the force of her landing the ground burst into winter, exploding outward in a roiling storm of jagged frozen spires, each jutting out toward the rogue teigu. Once again, Esdeath was irked to see that her prey didn't deign to dodge. Naruto merely curled his free hand into a fist and it burst into flame, forming a snarling sphere of fire in his palm. Aside from that he didn't move. Didn't take a stance, he simply held the small wisps of fire in his palm, absently cradling them as she looked on.

 _Just dodge why don't you!?_ her mind shrieked! _Ability or not, you're going to get hurt if you don't-_

When he moved she barely saw it.

One moment he stood still as a statue, rooted to the ground while angry red fire flickered in his hand.

Then he simply vanished.

"Where are you looking?"

 **"...!"**

In the next instant a hand locked around Esdeath's shoulder from behind, informing the proud warrior that he'd somehow maneuvered himself to her exposed flank. Animal instinct sent her spinning to attack, but far too slow, even as she realized what was about to happen the earth itself betrayed her, a prison of stone and soil locking around her ankles. She broke free immediately, but that second cost her most dear. Flame burned her eyes orange as that bristling heat shot well upwards, engulfing the entirety of his right arm. Said arm snapped forward a heartbeat later, flame shooting from his knuckles as their master released his hold upon the ancient element. A wave of his arm and it was loosed, flung at like a burning maelstrom.

"Drop dead! **HIKEN!"** _(Fire Fist!)_

 _Oh._

That was Esdeath's last coherent thought before the pillar of fire devoured her defenses and barreled into her still-turning body like a hurricane, ripping her from her feet to fling her away into the forest. Fire had always been her weakness and though she had trained overcome it through the years, being blasted at point blank wasn't something you could prepare yourself for. Pain, even less so. Fire and flame tore at her body, branding her, burning her, searing into her very soul with such force that she couldn't even bring herself to scream; opening her mouth would simply give the fire

Such pain!

 _'I'm going to die.'_ A part of her realized, stunned. _'If don't do something right here, right now, I really will...NO!'_

All living beings fear death.

No matter how strong or weak we might be, we all dread that

The same could be said of Esdeath.

Desperate, flailing in raw agony, she tried to freeze the roaring column of fire scorching her skin. Part of her knew it was an act of futility; one could simply not expect a blazing, white-hot flame to turn cold. It defied all logic. Yet for lack of anything else to attempt, she took the full brunt of her power and threw it at the fire. To her disbelief, she succeeded, in only partially and not at all in the way she'd intended. Instead of flinging up a barrier of ice and falling away at the last instant she produced a different result entirely.

The world stopped.

Just for an instant, time ceased to be.

Esdeath didn't stop to question this unexpected blessing. Rather, she seized upon this change. She tumbled away from the frozen fire, her body steaming. And not a moment too soon. Even as she fell out of the path of the great blaze it roared by, the sheer force of its passage swatting her aside. extinguishing itself against the side of a hulking boulder. She gazed at the scorched stone in disbelief, eyes bulging as the stone cracked an' fell apart before her eyes. A few more seconds and that would have been her.

 _'Just now...what did I...?'_

"What the hell was that?" Naruto's rough voice grated on her already raw nerves. "I'm sure I got a direct hit, there. How are you still alive?" Looking up, she heard the blond approaching in the mist, but the haze hid his face from view. He sounded just as surprised as she felt. Blue eyes flicked down to her still-trembling hand, the fear of death still very much with her. So. This was her limit, then. So often had she claimed not to fear an end to her life, so long as she went down fighting. But it was there. She'd nearly died-until she'd done _something_ to stop it. Now, she didn't have an answer for him.

Or herself, even.

Not yet.

"Well," he rumbled, "I think its about time to wrap this up."

Slowly, the thick fog abated, exposing the two combatants to one another. Naruto still looked fresh as a daisy, his tan skinned scuffed by the signs of battle but otherwise unblemished in spite of her best efforts to bring him down. He was still going strong. Whereas she'd had to freeze her wounds to prevent them from bleeding he'd simply healed. He took everything she had to offer, accepted every wound, and came back for more. He simply refused to fall. Refused to bend. Refused to submit. To her attacks. To her.

Esdeath's tattered pride couldn't take it.

"Just how strong are you?!" She muttered blackly to herself, the words too soft for her foe to hear. "Its not fair-

"Ah." An abrupt remark cut through her thoughts like a knife. "Your hair looks kinda nice like that."

Esdeath blinked.

"My...hair?" she croaked.

The once flowing curtain of her cerulean tresses had indeed been cut short; now the ragged, singed, locks barely came past her chin. It lent her a more severe look, but she didn't know that. She simply _was._ And he had just remarked upon it. A light pink flush crept at the corners of her cheeks and unbidden, her finger began to twirl at the matted blue locks.

"W-Well!" she muttered as she touched the side of her face, flushing when strands of blue came away. "I do hope you're happy. You've ruined my hair. It'll take _months_ to get it that long again."

"To be fair, I was aiming for your heart back there." Naruto admitted cheekily, tapping his sword to a shoulder.

"Ah. So you _don't_ like girls with long hair?"

He grew thoughtful, thinking.

"If its long you can grab it, I mean-OI! Stop distracting me!"

Esdeath couldn't help herself; she laughed with delight at his reply and spread her arm wide, as if in a kind greeting.

"That settles it." she decided. "You _have_ to be mine."

"And the Empire's, it seems." he sighed.

Esdeath brightened. "So you'll come-

"No."

"Pity."

She stepped in and Naruto stepped back.

It saved his life.

Instead of striking his brain-which he was fairly certain served as his core-the rapier skewered him from behind and drilled him forward three paces. Rather, it would have had he not planted his feet and willed his body to remain still. Another inherited skill of this form was its ability to completely negate any and all forms of momentum and movement. Stylish had actually been clever to grant him this much at least. Not a very handy skill in the face of combat, but _very_ useful when you didn't want to be flung into the sunset or ravaged by a madwoman.

Said woman was currently balking at him as though he'd grown an extra head.

Naruto sighed.

"You know," he remarked quietly, gazing down at the bloody steel jutting out of his chest, I never get tired of that shocked expression when someone sticks me with a sword. 'Eh? Why didn't you die?' Or something like, 'That should have hit your heart!' Bah!" scoffing, he turned his head around a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, eliciting a painful crack in his neck. "As if a paltry wound like this would be able to kill me. C'mon now, blue! Stop playing games and get serious already. Do you want me to take the other arm, next?"

Behind him, Esdeath stiffened.

He felt it in the blade, her shock, coupled with a strange glee.

"No reply? Guess its my turn, then. Hope you're not too attached to this...

With casual slowness he reached up and took hold of the blade, preventing its owner from pulling it free. Then still holding the forged steel, he crushed the weapon and bent the rapier around until it hooked against his chest, forming a useless curve. Esdeath tugged mightily but to no avail. A crushing backhand barreled into her face, crushing cartilege and bending bone, staggering her. In that brief moment of inattention her grip on her fractured blade loosened and the blond took full advantage.

Ripping the steel free from his chest, he curled it into a ball and cast it down onto the ground.

"I really should apologize," he yawned as the wound closed, absently crushing the sundered steel beneath a boot. "Ordinarily, I'd give you a handicap or something, make this easier for you, ya know? But right now...

A hand snapped southward without a glance, clenched knuckles barreling into her face in casual backhand.

...I'm not feeling very nice."

Once again, he wasn't prepared for the laughter.

"Still so determined! Just as I thought!" Esdeath doubled over, an exultant giggle trickling through the mist between them. "Not just fire, you can even manipulate earth and water to such a degree!" Even from within the clouded haze, her voice carried with it a silken edge of menace. "You truly are worthy of me. Why don't we go back to the capital now, Naruto-kun? I can promise you this little transgression will be forgiven if you do~!"

"Seriously, I'm not as pure as you think. And Like I said," The blond replied, a strained smile twitching at his whiskered cheeks, "I'm flattered by your attention, really, but my answer is no! I ain't the submissive type! Besides...

"Besides?" Esdeath tilted her head, blinking.

"I hate the empire." Naruto finished readily, brandishing his flaming blade. "Don't you understand that? They used me. Abused me. Tore chunks of my body off and used them for god knows what." his jaw clenched, and a tooth cracked in his jaw. "They're scum, and so is that fucking minister. I'd sooner die before going back to them if its all the same to you."

The general's heart gave an awful wrench.

"You don't have to serve the empire," she argued, "Only me. Would that be enough?"

"Its all the same to me." Naruto repeated flatly. "You're with the Empire."

Es's gaze darkened, and she hung her head.

"I see."

In the next instant, her hand snapped up.

"Then I will use force to subdue you!"

Naruto blinked, restraining a frown.

"Force? Aren't you alreaaaaaaaaa...

His words trailed off as she leaped into the air.

Moments later, a towering shadow swam into existence overhead, blotting out the sun.

"WHAT?!"

The towering glacier-for nothing less could possibly describe its majesty-was a sight in-and-of itself, easily large enough to eclipse the forest thrice over and crush everyone within. It hung in the clouds for a moment, seemingly remain stationary only through the sheer will of its mistress. Then, as if provoked from that very thought, it began to fall from on high. Obliterating every thought, blocking out all the clouds in the sky, and coming for him. Despite himself, Naruto felt his jaw briefly come unhinged. This was overkill, wasn't it? Definitely overkill. It _had_ be overkill. The very _idea_ of a technique so ludicrously overpowered even existing in this world was enough to boggle the mind. Unbidden, his composure slipped, just for a moment.

"Oi, oi, oi?! What the hell is that?!" he wailed, thrusting a finger at the falling glacier! "A fucking ice meteor?! That's some Madara-level bullshit! Are you seriously trying to kill me?!"

"If something this weak could kill you then I wouldn't be interested!" Esdeath shouted back.

Naruto sighed deeply.

Two could play that game.

She wanted to terrify him, eh?

Shinobi had won _that_ war long ago.

"Oh for fuck's sake...guess I'm using a trump card!"

Atop her falling comet, Esdeath frowned.

Trump Cards.

Most Teigu had one.

Their ultimate ability, nearly unstoppable. But just now, Naruto had said "a" Trump Card, rather than "my" Trump Card. Something about the phrase nagged at her. Yes, he was a Teigu, so it made sense that he would have a special attack of some sort, but the way he phrased it...

...did he really have multiple...

A hand rose.

"Watch closely! And don't tell anyone about this!

Grinning, the Unbound retaliated by curling both hands into a fist, forming a ball of golden flame in each. With a grunt he slapped them together and spread them apart again, subsequently combining the two. Esdeath saw it as little more than a tiny yellow speck from her vantage in the sky. Was it a fire attack of some sort? No, the shape was all wrong. As if he were channeling something, creating. Summoning. A flare of light sang itself into existence around him.

And he began to chant.

"I am the bone of my sword." his hands burned white-hot as she looked on, fingers curling into a fist. "Steel is my body." sharply he dropped to a knee, body shimmering with heat. "Fire is my blood. Unknown to death, nor known to life. A being filled with strife. I am the shield. Before me all enemies yield. My weapon clear. Though you are but a copy, come to me now!"

Raising his gaze, he glared up at the falling berg.

At her.

"My skin is steel!" he barked, eyes burning gold. "Here and now, I call thee to heel!"

With these words he raised his flaming palms into the sky and drew his hands tightly together. Saffron light coalesced between his palms, forming a pommel. Then a hilt. Followed by a blade. Rippling and fluctuating, his creation blurred constantly in his hands, seeming to exist in one moment, then fade into the next. As though it were little more than a phantasm, but more and more realy with each passing second. A brilliant blade that gleamed impossibly bright took a physical

"Through rising fields!"

Raw light rose from his surroundings, from the air, the earth, and the sky itself.

"In the heat of battle! In the name of the King!"

The frozen glacier was nearly upon him now, threatening to crush him into oblivion with the sheer weight of its presence. If Naruto noticed, he didn't seem to care. Instead he spun sharply, cradling the blazing blade in either hand, fingers tight around the hilt. The earth quaked from that simple motion, trembling as the blond raised both hands overhead. And heheld them there, an immutable pillar standing fast as the light built unto itself, the song rising to a great and terrible crescendo.

A flicker of fear sparked to life in Esdeath's chest at the sight of that sword. Some unknown dread she couldn't explain but instinctively knew all the same. Terrified, she struck her falling comet with her fist, sending it shrieking forward the last few yards.

"NAAAAAARUUUUUUTOOOOO!"

An angry roar answered, but it wasn't her name.

 ** _"EXXXXXXXXX..._**

It belonged to another.

Too late, she saw the impossible, realized he wasn't simply waiting for the iceburg to fall upon him. He'd leaped up to meet it-no, he was _scaling_ it, dragging the holy blade behind him as he raced up to meet her, that gleaming, burning edge biting deep into the while the blade charged. Hissing, she raised a hand desperately thrusting a thick dome of ice between her and the blade as it rose-

 **...CALIBUUUUR!** "

-and dropped.

 _Hard._

It _was_ a very _nice_ slash Esdeath thought as the golden line of wrath descended; blazed upward in a rising column of force that utterly vaporized her icy meteor and rendering it to so much water. That water boiled away into steam as the primordial forces behind the blade snarled forward, swallowing the frozen spire whole without the slightest resistance. The shockwave proved just as unstoppable, barreling into her frozen barrier, then her body, hurling her away like so much chaff before scythe.

A dizzying expanse of sky flashed before her vision followed by blackness, and when she came to, everything was swimming.

Her sight, her sense of sound, even her own legs, nothing would obey her.

"What are you, a monster?" Naruto's figure swung in and out of her sight as she desperately clung to consciousness. "I don't like to use this trick often so I held back a bit at the end, but still! You're lucky! If you hadn't defended at the least second there, you'd be dust. Still, you're bleeding a fair bit...

Esdeath twitched.

Furious, she focused all of her willpower into the air and urged a lance of ice at him!

CHOMP.

"...what?"

Naruto hadn't bothered to melt her attack. Instead, he'd simply caught it in his hand. As she looked on he brought it up to his mouth and...wait, was he really doing that? He was! To her great dismay, he sank his teeth into the frozen spear, chewed thoroughly, and swallowed. He inhaled deeply once more and reared his head back, taking another bite out of the frozen water. He continued doing so, slowly devouring the four foot spike with quiet intensity until nearly nothing remained, and he was left clutching bits of water.

"Maaaaaaan~!" he guffawed loudly. "That's cold!"

"I...you...what did you just do?!"

"Did you know?" he grinned, idly chewing, mouthing working around the larger chunks. "I've been called Berserker, but nothing's further from the truth. Y'see, I got that nickname from a rampage in the south. I was a shinobi. Got made into a teigu. I don't destroy them. I devour them. Eating your ice isn't quite the same, but its still very refreshing. Don't look at me like that, now!" he grinned. "How do you think I got all these crazy powers? Simple." With a flourish he cast the last of the frozen spear aside and struck up a pose reminiscent to that of a certain perverted sage, legs spread wide, hand thrust forth. "Listen well to this!" he declared, rolling his head! I consume Imperial Arms! I am the last of the Forty-Eight. The All Consuming Glutton! Uzumaki Naruto!"

Blue eyes gleamed red, a growl snaking through clenched teeth.

 _"And you taste fucking delicious."_

Esdeath shuddered.

Well.

This was it, then.

She'd thrown all she had at him, and she couldn't even bring herself to move, now. Ignoring the fact that she'd already suffered the loss of an arm, she was fairly certain he'd blown off most of her left leg with that last attack, and one of her eyes was very much swollen shut. It was, to her great shame, an utter defeat. Standing wasn't even an option anymore. She felt drained, more so than she ever had been before. Steeling herself, she refused to flinch, her good eye staring stonily up at him. What a shame. Here she'd found someone worthy of standing beside her, and yet...

Gulping, she uttered the words she'd never thought to speak.

"Kill me." she muttered. "Just...get it over with."

Naruto was silent for a long moment.

Then, abruptly, he leaned forward.

 _"Chu~!"_

"Mmmph?!"

Esdeath started slightly as a hand tilted her face upwards, firm, yet gentle. Then warm lips caged hers in a chaste kiss. To her surprise she felt strength and vitality rush back into her body. The aching sore that was her eye receded swiftly, allowing her to witness this strange miracle with both eyes wide. To watch as her own wounds closed, to see the twisted wreck of her leg slot back into place. To feel the harsh and clamoring ache in her head rapidly abated bloody red canyon between her shoulders slid shut. Yet for some reason, her arm did not return.

 _...what is...this?'_

The loss of her limb was the furthest thing from Esdeath's mind as she watched those very same wounds appear on the tei-on Naruto. He sagged slightly, taking his lips from hers, coughing wetly. But only for a handful of seconds. As she looked on he straightened, his wounds slowly stitching themselves shut, as though he'd never accepted her injuries at all. When all was said and done she found herself feeling strangely refreshed, as though she had just finished a pleasant workout, and was just now cooling down

Speaking of which...!

A hand rose tentatively touching her lips.

"But...why...?"

Naruto gave her another beat of silence.

"I've struggled for a long time with survivin'." he said at last, turning his gaze towards the waning sun. "No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for. Be it people or a place, or even yourself; we humans get funny when it comes to rationalizing our thoughts. I'm not so far gone as to kill _you_ in cold blood. Not yet. Death is easy. Its living that's hard."

"And what are you living for now?" Esdeath muttered.

"I'm fighting for an end." he replied readily.

"What kind of end?"

Azure eyes met cobalt.

 _"My own."_

"Living just to die?" Esdeath frowned. "That's not a life."

Naruto clicked his teeth in annoyance.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who lives only to fight. So?" Jamming both hands in his pockets, he fixed her with a rueful glare. "Are you going to attack me again?" Esdeath watched him stiffen imperceptibly, his hand tense and ready to summon another weapon. Did she dare attack him again? Part of her flinched at the thought. She'd tasted death today and wasn't entirely sure she liked it. Her ice-cold confidence had been shaken for the first time in forever and despite the overwhelming desire she felt, a thorn of caution pricked her and held her back.

...no." she said at last, rising to her knees. "I won't."

"But you don't want to let me out of her sight."

Her head bobbed.

"Then join Night Raid." he offered her a hand. "Help me tear down the empire. You'll have plenty of fights. If you do that, this body is yours."

"You say that as if it _isn't_ yours."

"It isn't." he replied readily. "If this were my REAL body I would've ground you to paste by now."

Esdeath froze.

"What?"

"Its just as I said." Naruto clicked his teeth impatiently. "As a Ninja I had WAY more power than this. Not as many techniques, though. So? What's your answer?" The entire forest seemed to hold its breath at that very moment, the fate of an entire world hanging on the balance between these two titans.

The silence was telling.

"Tch," He sighed, palming his face. "Do you really want me that badly? I'm really not as awesome as you think. And like I said, I'm not submissive-

 _"I don't mind."_

...eh?"

"I said I don't mind." Esdeath repeated, placing her remaining hand in her lap. "As I see it, I have a handful of choices. The first is to return to the empire empty-handed. I have nothing there. The second is to take you by force, a path that we both know won't work. Then...there is the third. You're strong. Stronger than me now. I see that. If the only way to remain by your side is to join you and you absolutely refuse to be submissive or return with me to the Empire then I see only one way to satisfy both parties...

Naruto went pale.

"Oi, don't tell me you-

Her crazed smile conveyed it all.

"Please take good care of me, Master!"

"What?! I don't want a slaaaaa _aaaaaack!"_

That was all he managed before she tackled him.

 **A/N: A submissive Esdeath. Dear Lord this is going to be sheer MADNESS.**

 **Next chapter will be all sorts of insanity! And a touch more serious than this one. Its a doozy, and the upcoming previews hint at it in a big way. I suppose you could say I've been inspired as of late, thanks to certain events, no?**

 **So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

 **...Review, Would You Kindly?**

 **And enjoy the previews! If you get a Logan feeling from one of the previews its intentional =D**

 _ **(Preview)**_

 _"Say hello to our new comrade!"  
_

 _There was a deafening silence._

 _And then:_

 _And then..._

 _"HA?!"_

* * *

 _A long, shuddering sigh fled from the ancient teigu._

 _Naruto frowned down at the child and she frowned back, this little girl of eight-years who had his face, and yet not his was like looking at a younger version of his patented Sexy Jutsu. Those were clearly his eyes, but the whiskers were paler. Her jaw had a bit of a hard, stubborn set to it, and the hair was all wrong, too. Someone had tied those smooth blonde locks back in a long ponytail behind her head, rather than the signature twin-tails which he knew so very well. She looked up at him, full of quiet innocence and curiosity and he felt something in him break. What was she? A clone? A copy? Some last futile experiment by Stylish before his death?_

 _His fingers kept flexing, stiffening into claws at the sight of her._

 _"What is she?" he managed at last, turning his gaze._

 _The old man smiled._

 _"She's like you. Very much like you."_

* * *

 _"I don't accept this."_

 _Najenda started._

 _Naruto stood slowly, eyes bleeding black flames._

 _"I will not allow anyone to die!"_

 _Before she could think to stop him, he thrust out a hand._

 _"Reject!"_

 ** _R &R~!_**


	5. Kill the Decision (Interlude)

**A/N:** **Been awhile, hasn't it~?!**

 **Sorry for up and vanishing like that; life reared its ugly head and I had to deal with it.** **Thank you for all the wonderful support in the meantime *bows* and for your understanding.**

 **Now, ladies and gentlemen!**

 **I!**

 **AM!**

 **BACK!**

 **HUZZAH!**

 **LONG LIVE THE REQUEST YEARS!**

 **Someone asked me to do this, so here I am! Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but here we are. Be sure to vote for what will happen! THERE IS a poll on my profile! Vote to decide which faction Naruto joins! Also, remember, if you haven't read/seen Akame ga Kill, you're going to be mighty confused. I recommend the wikipidea if you're lost. Now then, as per the anonymous request, I am once more obligated to say that I own none of the material within, merely the idea for this story.**

 **Now for your questions and fan mail!**

 **Q: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?**

 **A: If you'd read the Author's note it explains my little absence for the last few days. As to being gone for this story, well...lets just say personal reasons, to make a long story short.** **I lost a good number of chapters when my computer died. THANKFULLY I now have a laptop, so that hopefully won't happen again.** **Suffice it to say they're done and over with and I'm back! I'll be updating quite a few things in the coming days as my job allows. And YES before you ask, I've been at said job for quite some time and its a joy to work at.**

 **Q: When are you going to finish a story?**

 **A: Some are already finished, mind you. Furthermore, its my goal to work on them at least once every day. Remember you, I don't write for myself, though the act of doing so is certainly a passion. I would have left this site behind a LONG time ago if that were the case. I write for you guys! I make absolutely ZERO money doing this-as we all do-**

 **Q: Happy ten year anniversary! Any plans?**

 **A: Wow, has it really been that long already? And yes, a few.**

 **Q: Has your sister gotten any better?**

 **A: It was touch and go for awhile, but she seems to be back to her normal self for now. Thankfully!**

 **Q: Dear god, a submissive Esdeath? Don't think I've ever seen that...**

 **A: Neither has Naruto!**

 **Now...**

 **...off we go!**

 **And remember!**

 **I!**

 **Own!**

 **NOTHING!**

 **LET US BEGIN~!**

 **BLOOD AND VIOLENCE AHOY!**

 **Once more as a disclaimer, I do not own ANY quotes or lines you may or may not recognize from TFS, other movies or shows. I receive no monetary value from using them. They are for sheer entertainment purposes only, so I hope you enjoy 'em!**

 **Makes the fight far more interesting, don'tcha think?**

 **Sorry if its short, but something is better than nothing with my health woes at this point...**

 _"You don't fight with honor!"_

 _"No. He did."_

 _~?_

 **Kill the Decision (Interlude)**

...that's what happened. For better or worse, I'm stuck with her, I guess. Soooo...thoughts?"

A deafening silence followed Naruto's proclamation. And then.

 _And then:_

 _"HA?!"_

Naruto offered a faint shrug as he wound down his tale, one that had taken the better part of an hour to curtail. To his credit, he'd managed to deliver the entire speech without betraying so much as a hint of the anxiety currently roiling inside his chest. It skittered in his stomach like a swarm of angry insects, threatening to devour the calm facade he was projecting. Inwardly, he cursed himself for his own stupidity. He'd spared Esdeath on a whim and nothing more, pausing only to bind and blindfold the ex-general before leading her back behind him.

Night Raid stood as a study of contrasts.

Some of its members looked at him as though he'd grown a second head and spouted gibberish. Others simply stood in stunned silence. More than one jaw worked wordlessly. The rest, well...he wondered if they were going to draw their Teigu and attack. A small part of him found it morbidly humorous, all things considered. Slaying a Teigu with another Teigu. There was some irony to be had in that. Had it been his choice, he would've gladly let them make an end of it; tear him limb from limb, separate his head from his shoulders and crush his skull to red paste. Alas, he had no say in it. Despite his mind's protests, his body would still defend itself to the last.

Hmm.

 _Were_ going to try?

He wondered about that.

None of them had drawn a weapon on him so he _supposed_ there was that, but their stony expressions put paid to his suspicions.

 _'Ah, jeez, I really stepped in it this time..._

Despite having her remaining arm bound behind her back and a piece of torn cloth concealing her vision, Esdeath somehow managed to sketch a fluid bow in response. Even in her disarmed-and wasn't that quite the pun-and wounded state she still reminded the blond of an alpha predator; a peerless killer waiting for the right moment to pounce. He was under no illusion that he'd tamed her-far from it. While he might have bested her once and secured an admission of loyalty, he doubted that "allegiance" stemmed to those he considered his allies. Who could claim to know her innermost thoughts? Not him, certainly...

"Its my pleasure, really." Esdeath's cool voice cut through his thoughts and somehow, her sightless gaze still found his. "See? I'm behaving. Can you untie me now, Master?"

"No, I think you'll be keeping those on." the whiskered warrior riposted in response. "At least, until we've decided what to do with you."

Her lips pursed into a thin line of displeasure. "You're mean-ouch!"

A taut hand chopped her head and she bowed with a yelp.

 _"I prefer practical."_

Lubbock uttered a soft, squelching sound.

"You've gotta be kidding me...do you...already have her trained or something?"

"Esdeath. Sit." Naruto deadpanned flatly, drawing a baffled glance when the general did just that. Without pause or preamble she folded both legs beneath her and dropped into a seiza position. He considered the young man's mystified expression more than reward for the silence that followed. Alas, it proved short-lived.

"Well said!" Bulat seconded, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you had your reasons!"

"Oi, I wasn't asking you musclehead...

That broke the floodgates; when the musclebound man guffawed openly, everyone else happily followed him down into the chaos that flowed forth.

In a heartbeat he found himself trapped in something of a four-way tie; his arms found themselves locked between the deadly razor folds of Extase even as Leone's clawed hand closed around his skull and as Akame's vicious Murasame hovered just above his exposed jugular. A harsh click punctuated by a vague sensation of pressure informed him that Mine's versatile Pumpkin had joined the fray, its barrel now pressed against the back of his skull. Honestly, it would've been downright concerning if not for his relative immortality. Perhaps, if they were thorough enough, they might actually kill him.

"Hey, now." a blond brow rose in concern. "Aren't you overreacting a bit, Sheele? Guys?"

...she actually listened to him just now." Najenda growled.

"Do you want me to kill them, boss?"

"That's not funny, Akame!"

"Now, now, just wait!"

...even if she's trained, she's still a wild beast!" the latter emerged in a snarl on Leone's part.

A hot flush crawled up the back of Naruto's neck and rendered his face nearly incandescent. No, not trained. Not in the least. He told himself it had nothing to do with the chained collar around her neck, nor the leash he was leading her by. These...these were simply there to restrain her! Yes! That! Esdeath was taking her new role _far_ too seriously for his liking. She hadn't challenged him once or even tried to escape and report to her superiors in spite of her bonds. Perhaps it would've been easier to simply kill her and dump her body in a ditch for the wolves. Spirits knew it would've saved him the hassle, or the look Najenda was grilling him with. And yet he hadn't been able to bring himself to do it.

"Why the hell is she even here anyway?!" Mine interjected, momentarily diverting his attention . "Injured or not, you should've killed her! Have you betrayed us?!"

"What?" he blinked. "Would you rather I lie to you all? If I was going to trick you, I'd like to think I'd be more subtle about it."

"She's a danger to everyone here!"

"By that logic, so am I." The darkest wisp of a shadow flitted across the blond's face and for a moment, she hesitated as those blazing orbs bored down into her. "And be that as it may, my decision stands." A stray spark skittered through the air in warning. "I won't kill her; unless she gives me cause to. The same applies for the lot of you. I may _want_ to die, but if you do this, you'll give me a reason to defend myself." his head turned at an impossible angle, blazing orbs glancing over his shoulder. "Is there a reason, Mine?"

Blood-red eyes flicked southward.

 _"Is there a reason?"_

Something about that smile tied the pinkette's stomach into a knot; like a snake of dread slithering through her thoughts, devouring her every rational thought. It was a grin utterly devoid of sanity, tethered by the most meager of identities, worn down over the ages. Right and wrong didn't apply here-not to him. She wasn't looking at a man, she realized; this was a teigu, cold and hard crafted from the scraps of a man's soul. Whatever remained of Naruto was so far gone as to be unreachable; here was a man who didn't _want_ to be saved, only to die. As much as it galled her to admit, she could understand that.

Grimacing, she lowered her rifle.

...lets hear him out, boss."

Najenda swore softly.

"Damnit, Mine!"

At some unseen signal Sheele withdrew her teigu as well. After a moment's hesitation, Akame complied. In short order, Leone found herself alone against what-in her eyes-amounted to little more than a glorified undead and his charge. Even then she didn't relent; her claws drew bloody red gouges in the whiskered warrior's skull; all the while she found herself at war with the very core of her being. Every instinct, every fiber of her being shrieked at her, howled that she had to crush Naruto's skull, that she had to do it and do it _now_ because she'd never get a chance like this...

And yet...

"Why didn't you just kill her?!" the blonde demanded of him.

Azure eyes narrowed, uncaring of the crimson seeping into his vision. "I will not kill an enemy whose surrendered. Never again."

 _"Then I'll do it!"_

Esdeath grinned then, a wide smile revealing too many teeth. Somehow despite being bound, despite the thick blindfold obscuring her vision, she still managed to gather her legs beneath her. To stand. A single fluid motion brought the towering terror to her feet, her head cocked aside like an inquisitive wolf. The temperature plummeted, sending a bracing chill racing through the lioness despite the searing fury coursing through her veins. She couldn't possibly be a threat like this...could she? No, surely not...

"Ohhhh do try, little mouse." the general purred. "I still have my legs."

To her credit, Leone didn't rise to the bait.

Nor did Esdeath at that.

But she did react.

 _Death._

She struck and saw her end flit before her eyes, beheld her own demise as a high-heeled boot swung up to crush her skull. Bits of bone and gray mattered spiraled past her vision, even as her eyes rolled back. In that instant, she couldn't react. Couldn't bring herself back from the brink, couldn't take back her attack; not as her clenched fist barreled toward Esdeath's exposed throat and the icy heel drilled into her skull-

 _ **"Oi. None of that."**_

With an annoyed grunt he jerked the bluenette backwards, eliciting a faint yelp from the icy mistress. With that, the specter of the future shattered and reality rushed back to fill the void left unfilled by time. The sudden loss of momentum sent Leone tumbling past the enraged general to crash headlong into a wall. Dazed, and a touch concussed perhaps, but very much alive. Groaning, she staggered upright-

 _Thunk._

"Will you just think for a second?!" Irritated, Naruto swatted the unruly lioness on the head lest she lunge at his throat instead. "I've got a solution to all of this!"

"Tch, what the hell, whiskers?! And what solution might that be, hotshot?! That hurt!"

His smile sent a silent shiver through all assembled.

"Its simple." With an exasperated snort, the blond clicked his teeth, allowing a touch of genuine anger to pervade his words. "Really. If she turns on us in any way, shape, or form, _she dies._ If she attacks any of you, _she dies._ If If she tried to run away and report to her superiors, _she dies._ If she speaks out of turn, you guessed it! _She dies!"_

Esdeath pouted at this statement, just so.

"Well, you're no fun, Master...

 ** _"What was that?"_**

 _"Nothing!"_

 **A/N: Feels good to be back again, even if this chapter was little more than a short interlude. Once again, I apologize for that and ask for your understanding. I've been having a rough time of things as of late, both healthwise and in regards to life. Reality has decided to rear its ugly head as of late, leaving me both pressed for time to write and my sanity issues. Did I mention I might be going insane? I won't go into details-and I'm certainly not going to haul off and do something foolish-but my mind seems to be getting away from me as of late; I find myself forgetting things, having trouble speaking as I once did, and the like.**

 **I'm still able to put words down on paper-or keyboard in this case-but its a tad worrying.**

 **Doesn't help that I might have to get ANOTHER job to help make ends meet.**

 **Next chapter will be all sorts of insanity! And a touch more serious than this one. Its a doozy, and the upcoming previews hint at it in a big way. I suppose you could say I've been inspired as of late, thanks to certain events, no?**

 **So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

 **...Review, Would You Kindly?**

 **And enjoy the previews!**

 _ **(Preview)**_

 _"Think on your actions! Can you truly call this justice?!"_

 _"Shut up shut up shut up! You worthless teigu! You have no idea-AARGH!"_

 _A shriek tore out of Seryu as he wrenched her shoulder in its socket. The sheer agony of it momentarily forced her to her knees; that was all it took for her opponent to overwhelm her. A booted foot slammed down between her shoulders and planted itself against her spine. Strong hands pulled her arm aside, tearing tendons as they forced it behind her back. At this angle it was impossible to use her hidden weaponry, much less attempt a counterattack. Thus, she found herself left with the alternative._

 _"K-KORO! KILL!"_

 _Half his face vanished in a maw of toothy slobber..._

 _...Sheele swallowed thickly aside..._

 _...as the rest laughed._

 ** _"My turn."_**

* * *

 _"Bring forth the sacrifice!"_

* * *

 _...congratulations. You wanted a god? You found one. There's just one problem."_

 _With an annoyed grunt he leveled a long finger forward._

 _Cocked it backwards._

 _Formed a gun._

 _"Oh, dear."_

 _...he's fresh out of mercy."_

 ** _R &R~!_**


End file.
